Mechanism for opening doors.



F. E. BURRIS.

MECHANISM FOR OPENING DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 25. 1915.

1 232,2 1 3. Patented July 3, 1917.

4 SHEETSSHEET w l k F. E. BURRIS.

MECHANISM FOR OPENING DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED 001.25.1915.

15232313. Patented July 3,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

(ga wewlioz attozmug F. E. BURRIS.

MECHANISM FOR OPENING DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 25. I915- Patented July 3, 1917.

4 SH ETSSHEET 3- F. E. BURRIS.

MECHANISM FOR OPENING moons.

APPLICATION HLED OCT. 25. 1915.

Patented July 3, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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/ nnrTnn STATES raTnnT ormcn FRANK E. BURBIS, F DES MOINES, IOWA.

Application filedOctoberZE, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known thatl, FRANK E. BURRIS, a citizenof the United States,residing at Des Moines, in the county of Poll: and State of Iowa, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mechanism for Opening Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relatesto mechanism for opening doors and particularly the-doors of garages, the object in view: being to provide in connection with the doors of a garage or other structure, door opening and closing mechanism of a novel construction and arrangement combined with setting means operable by one of the wheels of an automobile or other vehicle, whereby the door operating mechanism is set either to open the doors or close the same in accordance with the direc tion in which the vehicle is moving with respect to the setting mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide in connection with the door operating mechanism. manually operable means for setting saidmechanism either to open or close thedoor or doors of the building.

With the above and other obj ects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as herein described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is aplan view of a garage or similar structure omitting the roof and showing the door operating mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the door operatin g mechanism, showing the doors closed and the door operating weight at the. initial end of its movement.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing-the door open and the weight at the initial end of its movement for closing the doors.

Fig. t is an enlarged perspective view of the door operating mechanism.

Fig. 5. is a fragmentary perspective view showing the weight, the supporting track therefor and the latching and releasing mechanism.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side elevation of the setting mechanismshowing a portion of the pull and thrust rod. I

Referring to the drawings A generally designates a garage or like structure which is. shown as comprising the two doors 1 hinged along their vertical edges at 2 to theframe of the structure and adapted to swing outwardly.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1917.

Serial No. 57,812.

Each ofthe doors 1 thereto in line with its tor 3 the teeth of which are engagedv by the teeth of a rack face i on a rack bar 5 which is movable in the direction of its length and which is actuated by one of a pair of pinions (Sfast on a main oscillatory shaft? journaled in fixed bearings, the shaft 7 being shown as of the overhead variety or ar ranged at a suitable elevation to enable the vehicle to pass under the same. As illustratedin Fig. 1, two rack bars 5 are shown and the mechanism just described is duplicated so that both doors are simultaneously operated upon either for opening or closing the same.

Fast on the shaft -7 adjacent to the opposite ends thereof are wheels 8 and 9 each having a solid or weighted portion 10 to assist in the opening or closing movement of the doors during half of the movement thereofand toresist the movement of the doorsas they approach the limit of their movement in either direction, each of said wheels as well as the shaft 7 being adapted to turn aboutthree quarters of a revolution or approximately two hundred and seventy degrees. The rack bars 5 are slidable through guides 11 arranged at intervals throughout the length thereof and fastened to a fixed part of the structure.

The wheel 9 has its periphery grooved to receive a complete wrapping of a wheel actuating chain 12 so that when a pull is given to the chain 12 in either direction, the wheel 9 and therefore the shaft 10 is revolved in a corresponding direction thereby causing the rack bars?) to move longitudinally in one direction or the other for the obvious purpose. of opening or closing the doors.

The door operating mechanism also includes an oscillatory frame 18 shown for convenience as consisting of a diamond shaped plate which is reinforced at one or both sides thereof by means of bars 14: preferably T-shaped in cross section, the same being riveted or otherwise fixedly secured to the-frameplate 13 to prevent buckling or warping of the latter. At its opposite ends the frame plate 12 is provided with the U- shaped extensions 15 projecting to one side thereof and havingourn aled therein guide pulleys 16 around whichthe chain 12 :PQSSQS. The extremities of the chain 12 are fastened at 17 to a weight designated generally at B, said Weight comprising a housing 18 has rigidly fastened hinge a toothed secshoulders 27 to shift the o purpose of releasing the mg governed by the weight of the doors which are to be opened and closed by means of said weight. The housing or casing 18is eX- tended to form the parallel members or extensions 21 between which are ournaled trolley wheels or rollers 22 which rest and roll upon a track 23 shown for convenience in the form-of a bar or rod the opposite extremities of which are inserted through the extensions of the frame plate 13 and secured by nuts 24.

Parallel to the track 23 is a latch rod 25 the opposite ends of which are slidable through guide'openings 26 in the extensions 15 of the frame plate 13. The latch rod 25 is provided adjacent to the opposite ends thereof with shoulders 27 with which the weight 13 is adapted to contact as it approaches the limit of its movement in either direction, the weight coiiperating with the latch rod 25 longitudinally in a corresponding direction thereby causing one end or the other of the rod 25 to project beyond the end of the frame plate 13. Fastened to the garage structure are latches 28 with which the projecting ends of the latch rod 25 are adapted to engage to hold the frame plate at either limit of its swinging movement, said frame plate being pivo-tally mounted in line with the shaft 7 or on one end of said shaft as may be preferred. The frame plate 13, however, has no direct connection with the shaft 7 and is movable independently of said shaft.

Spring catches 29 are carried by the frame pl ate 13 and when the weight B reaches either limit of its movement along the track 23, one of the catches 29 snaps behind the weight B and holds the same at that end of the track while the corresponding end of the frame plate 13 is sustained at the upper limit of its movement by means of the re spective latch 28. Trips 30 are arranged adjacent to the latches 28 and in such position as to act upon the spring catches 29 for the weight B when the latter has reached its highest point during the swinging movement of the frame plate 13 and while the track 23 is at its greatest inclination in either direction. Handles 31 connected to the frame plate 13 by means of chains or cables 32 or the like provide for setting the door operating mechanism from the inside of the garage, either for the purpose of closing or opening the doors.

The setting mechanism comprises a setting member 33 shown as comprising a horizontal portion and depending arms 34 which are pivotally mounted at their lower extremities in eyes or bearings 35, said setting member being adapted to be pushed downwardly in either direction from a vertical to a horizontal position according to the direction in which the vehicle is moving, said set ting member being actuated by one of'the wheels of the vehicle coming in contact therewith. The setting member 33 is normally sustained in a substantially vertical position by means of a centering spring 36. Pivotal thrust links 3? and 38 are connected to the setting member 33 at 39 and each of said thrust links 37 and 38 has attached to the lower end thereof a fork 40 in which is journaled a wheel or roller 41 rolling in contact with a supporting base or bed 42.

The forks 40 straddle a pull and thrust a rod 43 which is supported at intervals in the length thereof by means of rollers 44; The rod 43 has fast thereon adjacent to one end a collar 45 and at a point remote from the collar 45 is another collar 46 fastened to the rod 43. The distance between the collars 45 and 46 is such that when the setting member 33 is pressed downwardly by the vehicle wheel in one direction, one of the forks 40 will thrust the collar 45 away from it and shift the rod 43 in one direction. When the setting member is pressed downwardly in the oppositedirection, the other fork 40 will contact with the collar 46 and shift tl e pull and thrust rod 43 in the opposite direction. setting member 33 has been pressed downwardly in a certain direction, the subsequent downward pressure on said setting member in the same direction will not efiect a shifting of the rod 43. Therefore, the passing of the rear wheel of a machine over the setting member after the latter has been acted upon by the front Wheel, will have no effect upon the door operating mechanism nor the setting means therefor with exception, of course, of the setting member only. For the same reason other vehicles following the first vehicle may proceed into a garage without effecting the door operating mechanism.

The pull and thrust rod 43 is connected at 47 to one end of a shifting lever 48 pivotally mounted at 49 between its ends and provided at its opposite end with a longitudinal slot 50 to receive a pin 51 carried by the adjacent end of a reinforcing bar and lever 52 which is fastened to the frame plate 13. The lever 52 is provided with several holes 53 into any one of which the pin 51 may be in serted to increase or diminish the leverage of the lever 48 with respect to the frame plate 13. 54 is a projection on the weight housing 18 to engage the spring catches 29 for the purpose hereinabove stated.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will now be understood that the op eration of the mechanism is as follows. Starting with the doors 1 closed as shown in Fig. 2, when an automobile or other ve- After the hicle is to enter the garage, the vehicle is steered so that the front wheel will strike against and depress the setting member 33, pressing the same toward the doors. This has the effect of thrusting the rod 23 to ward the garage thereby rocking the track 23 to the position shown in Fig. 2. As said track reaches the limit of its movement, the latch rod 25 engages the adjacent latch 28 thereby retaining the frame plate 13 in the position shown in Fig. 2. Simultaneously therewith the adjacent trip 30 operates to shift the adjacent catch 29 out of engagement with the shoulder 54, releasing the weight B which then gravitates along the inclined track 23, drawing the chain 12 around the wheel 13, turning the latter and thereby the shaft 7 and effect-ing an outward movement of the rack bars 5 which in turn cooperate with the toothed segments 3 to swing the doors open. About midway in the movement of the doors, the weighted portions 10 of the wheels 8 and 9 reach the bottom points in their movement and start to ascend. Therefore, in the first half of the movement of each of the wheels 8 and 9, the weighted portion assists in the movement of the doors and in the latter half of the turning movement of said wheels, the weighted portions 10 thereof resist the movement of the doors thereby preventing the doors from slamming either as they are closed or opened. When the Weight B reaches the lower end of the inclined track 23, it is heldL by one of the catches 29 and it also acts against the adjacent shoulder 27 to longitudinally shift the latch rod 25 and cause the lower end of the latter to project so that when the frame plate 13 is swung in the opposite direction it will engage the appropriate latch 28. The vehicle now enters the garage while the doors remain open. The operator then shifts or tilts the frame plate 13 to the other limit of its movement by means of one of the handles 31 and thereupon the weight B again moves to the opp0- site end of the track 23 and operates to close the doors, the last named position of the parts being illustrated in Fig. 3 wherein the doors are shown as open and the weight B at the initial end of its downward movement. As the weight descends along the inclined track under the position shown in Fig. 3, it pulls the chain 12 in a direction to revolve the wheels 8 and 9 in a clock-wise direction thereby drawing inwardly on the rack bars 5 and through the medium of the toothed sectors 8, swinging the doors to a closed position.

It will thus be seen that the setting member 33 operates to set the door operating mechanism in position either to open or close the doors, and likewise by means of the handles 31, a person within the garage may set the door operating mechanism to either open or close the doors. It is to be understood that the setting member 33 does not operate to open or close the doors but merely sets or positions the parts of the door operating mechanism so that they will act on the doors to open or close the latter in accordance with the angle of the track along which the weight B moves.

faving thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination with a door, of a tilting track, vehicle-operated setting means for tilting said track to incline in one direction or the other, and door operating mechanism embodying a weight movable by gravity along said track, a rotary shaft, driving connections between said weight and shaft, and door operating means between said shaft and door.

2. The combination with a door, of a tilting track, vehicle-operated setting means for tilting said track to incline in one direction or the other, and door operating mechanism embodying a weight movable by gravity along said track, a rotary shaft, driving connections between said weight and shaft, door operating means between said shaft and door, and a latch for holding said weight latching means on said track.

3. The combination with a door, of a tilting track, vehicle-operated setting means for tilting said track to incline in one direction or the other, and door operating mechanism embodying a weight movable by gravity along said track, a rotary shaft, driving connections between said weight and shaft, door operating means between said shaft and door, a latch for holding said weight while the track is being tilted, and means for tripping the latch and releasing said weight automatically at the limit of throw of said track.

4. The combination with a door, of a tilting track, vehicle-operated setting means for tilting said track to incline in one direction or the other, and door operating mechanism embodying a weight movable by gravity along said track, a rotary shaft, driving connections between said weight and shaft for rotating the latter, a pinion on said shaft, and a door operating rack bar actuated by said pinion.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK E. BUR-BIS.

Vitnesses:

HARPER GORDON, MARGUERITE DAUSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

